Blame
by Rocket Axxonu
Summary: Tokiko ponders Kazuki's death at the hands of their chief, Captain Bravo. Oneshot. Buso Renkin fic, set after Kazuki's and Bravo's battle at the beach.


Title: Blame

Disclaimer: I don't own Buso Renkin.

Summary: Tokiko ponders Kazuki's death at the hands of their chief Captain Bravo and decides with who the fault really lies. (One-shot) Buso Renkin

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A steady rain pelted the ground around the academy. Like anguished tears from the heavens, the downfall struck pounding blows into green grass now drowning in mud and water beginning to flood along the rugged black asphalt of the deserted road, gravity pulling it off to the sides to create dismal, dirty little streams. Well, almost deserted.

One young woman with a distinct, fearsome scar that went across the bridge of her nose walked along the cracked and broken sidewalk next to the road, her shoulder hunched and her head bowed at the ground. By now, rain water had soaked clear through her school uniform and dripped in an almost continuous stream from her short hair, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Tokiko."

She stopped walking, her expression unchanging.

"What are you doing out here, Warrior Tokiko?"

Again, her expression betrayed no change in emotion, almost as though she had not heard him. Suddenly she spun around, activating the power of her weapon of alchemy and summoning the power of her Valkerie Skirt- the death scythe. Against the steady rhythm of the rain, came the dissonant metallic clang of the clamps closing over each of her legs and the four arms moving into a battle position. She locked eyes with the new arrival and made no further movement.

"It's just me," said the familiar voice of the warrior chief Captain Bravo, dressed in the familiar silver skin cloak that had always hid his face during battle.

The two of them stood like that in silence for a moment as Tokiko made no answer. Water began to collect on the deadly sharp edges of the four blades of her death scythe, each raindrop that struck it sending another one to fall miserably to the ground.

"'_Only_ you,'" Tokiko repeated in a voice that held neither anger nor warmth, "What does that mean? Knowing that it is you, Commander, means nothing at all if I don't know whether to label you as an enemy or a friend."

"It's up to you to call me what you wish," he answered. He walked on past her, and stopped just behind her. "But you must understand," he added in such a tone as to suggest that he was still trying to understand it himself, "there was no way Kazuki Mutou could live, possessing the power that he did. He was a threat to the people around him along with everyone else- the ones who govern alchemy had no other choice."

_'But you had a choice,'_ Tokiko wanted to say, but she kept silent and the Warrior chief continued on walking, the sound of his large boots striking the cracked, broken concrete slowly fading away into the soft rhythm of the rain.

The four arms of the death scythe remained motionless, still pointed at the spot where the captain had stood a moment before. She didn't move for a moment, letting the water run along the edges of the blades and drip down onto her head and shoulders.

For taking away the people she cared about and turning her home into a slaughtering ground, she had despised all homunculus; yet, she could not bring herself to hate the commander. Whenever Kazuki transformed into the third type of being, the energy drain power gave him the power to destroy everyone, intentionally or otherwise. It was impossible to deny, like Captain Bravo had said; Kazuki was a threat to everyone. Kazuki had died... because her carelessness had dragged him into this battle of alchemy in the first place. It was because of her, not the warrior chief- and it was too late to make up for what she had done now.

Finally, she lifted her hand, recalling the alchemic weapon to its Kakugane form and slipping it into her pocket.

Her only comrades had ever been the ones who fought alongside her in battle. She had failed to protect Kazuki and he had died at the hands of their own leader... so who did she have left now?

"Tokiko?"

Tokiko turned her head and saw a familiar face. "Mahiro," she acknowledged and saw that Mahiro's two friends were there as well, all of them holding umbrellas.

"What are you doing out here, Tokiko?" said Mahiro, smiling in her ever cheerful way. "You'll catch a cold."

"I..." Tokiko began. Would Mahiro ever learn what happened to her brother? Her brother that had just spoken to her the day before, only to leave and never return again.

"Here, we can share my umbrella," she said, still smiling brightly the way she always did when she was around her "brother's girlfriend." When Tokiko didn't move, Mahiro moved over to her so that the umbrella was above them both. "We were just going to go get something to eat back at the dormitories. Want to come with us? We were thinking of getting Popsicles or something..."

"Popsicles? In this weather?" asked one of her friends skeptically.

Tokiko watched distantly as Mahiro argued the situation in favor of the Popsicles, before the girl lost her train of thought and lapsed into asking to be reminded of which of her friends was which.

Tokiko's only friends were her comrades in battle... But what about the battle against loneliness and despair?

"So, anyway," said Mahiro, finally turning back to Tokiko. "What do you say?"

The smallest of smiles flashed across Tokiko's features. "Sure."

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Wow, I think this is the shortest thing I've ever written... (it's more a drabble, really)

I wrote this right after I watched episode 16 of Buso Renkin and it was the unsubbed (without subtitles) version, so I didn't really get what was going on... XD I know it's somewhat inaccurate (part of it's because I couldn't understand what they were saying, but also I just ignored the fact that they were going to stay at the beach for two days), but I wanted to post it anyway, because there aren't enough Buso Renkin fanfictions on ffnet. ( :

Please r and r!


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